Emergency Relief for displaced people from Mosul, Iraq

Since the latest severe outbreak of violence in Iraq beginning in January 2014, around 3.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes to live as internally displaced people in Iraq. Most of them live in a state of extreme need in areas isolated from humanitarian relief.

The constantly-shifting frontlines in the hostilities between ISIS, and the Iraqi government – each with their complex network of local and international allies – again and again force families to flee their homes to avoid the violence. Most of these internally displaced people live in the autonomous Kurdistan region in the north of the country, concentrated around Dohuk and Erbil. This region has been a focal point of Malteser International’s relief efforts in Iraq since August 2014 – working with local authorities in order to provide vital assistance to thousands of displaced people and local host communities.

ISIS captured Mosul from Iraqi authorities on June 10 2014. Since then, more than 950.000 people in the surrounding areas have fled their homes in Mosul. Most of these have sought refuge in the autonomous region of Kurdistan – almost doubling the total population of the Dohuk, Erbil und Sulaimaniyah Governorates, and placing an enormous burden on public services including the healthcare system.

In October 2016, Iraqi government and allied international forces started their military operation to retake the city of Mosul. Since then, more than 950.000 people have fled from the region around the city. Almost a quarter of these have found refuge in the autonomous region of Kurdistan. The Iraqi government estimates that the city and region remain home to around 1.8 million people, most of whom may be expected to flee as soon as they are able to do so – adding around 250,000 people to the population of Kurdish-controlled territories.

Operate mobile clinics and mobile medical tent units in IDP-camps east of Mosul, as well as ambulance services to provide medical assistance to displaced people and host community in the Governorates of Erbil and Dohuk.